General News of Thursday, 30 May 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

Major Mahama’s Statue unveiled to campaign against mob action

Major Maxwell Adam Mahama's 20-foot monument was unveiled at the Airport Hills Roundabout Major Maxwell Adam Mahama's 20-foot monument was unveiled at the Airport Hills Roundabout

Mr Dominic Nitiwul, the Minister of Defence, on Wednesday unveiled a Statue in honour of Major Maxwell Adam Mahama, the Military Officer who was gruesomely murdered by an irate mob at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region, two years ago.

The Statue, a 20-foot monument, was unveiled at the Airport Hills Roundabout in Accra in the presence of the family of the slain soldier.

It was also to commemorate the two years passing of the soldier and serve as a national campaign against mob action.

The monument shows the late Major Mahama with an outstretched left arm, calling for curtailment of mob action, and the right arm securing his weapon.

Mr Nitiwul said it was in fulfilment of the President's promise to the family of the deceased and to the people of Ghana.

He said the monument should send a signal to all Ghanaians that what happened to the fallen soldier would be the last case of instant justice to be recorded in the country.

"The Statue we see today should remind all of us of the ultimate sacrifice that this young man gave to the people of Ghana. It should be the last for all of us and should be a reminder to us that by the laws of Ghana you are presumed innocent until proven guilty," he said.

Captain Dennis Mahama (Rtd), Father of the late soldier, said the family was grateful to the Government for fulfilling every promise made to it.

"Government has done very well. They made promises and have fulfilled all of them. Today is the last one and we have seen its realisation and we are very happy about it," he said.

He, however, called for intensive public education on mob action in the country, of which much improvement had not been seen.

Wreaths were laid by the wife, his two children, father, mother and brother.

In attendance were Mr Ambrose Dery, the Minister of the Interior, Lieutenant General Obed Boamah Akwa, the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Military High Command and other government officials.

Major Mahama, born on November 1, 1985, was commissioned into the Ghana Armed Forces on September 7, 2007 as Second Lieutenant and was posted to the Fifth Infantry Batallion as a Platoon Commander.

He rose through the ranks to become a Captain having served in capacities both home and abroad.

As the Commander of the Military Detachment stationed at Denkyira-Obuasi, he met his untimely death on the 29th of May, 2017, after he was lynched by the residents who claimed they thought he was an armed robber.

He was later promoted posthumously to the rank of Major on June 5, 2017.

Besides the Statue, a Trust Fund has been set up by the Government to cater for Major Mahama’s wife and children.

The monument was built to depict the late officer as a hero and to convey a message of putting a stop to mob action.